Marcus Garvey's Contribution to the Development of a Postcolonial Caribbean Identity from colonial Jamaica to an international icon of the black empowerment movement. Rupert Lewis portrays Garvey as a self-made individual, whose keen observations on the conditions of blacks in the colonial-era Caribbean and other parts of the world, stimulate his drive and determination to create opportunities that bring about fundamental change and create a new black. consciousness that attempts to erase the abuse of slavery on the black psyche. In retrospect, the impact of his contribution had far-reaching effects on the development of a postcolonial Caribbean identity, and many of the goals and structures he committed to writing and speaking were effectively used in the formation of laws and institutional framework . of the independent nations of the Caribbean. Rupert Lewis used material in his account, from the perspective of Marcus Garvey's second wife, Amy Jacques-Garvey, and also used other supporting information, including Garvey's writings and speeches. To examine the extent of its contribution to postcolonial Caribbean identity, we must first understand exploitative colonialism, the impact of slavery, post-slavery conditions, and its goals of recovering black humanity, creating economic wealth, and creating laws and legislative frameworks to advance the black diaspora. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Caribbean colonialist society was based on exploitative colonialism. To understand the impact of Garveyism on postcolonial Caribbean identity, one must be aware of the effect of colonialism on the identity of the black Caribbean citizen. The rich and powerful nations of Europe, in an attempt to acquire more power and wealth, decided to exploit the resources of the Caribbean countries they inhabited and in the process decimated the native populations. The Lucayan, Taino, and Kalinago populations severely declined due to the introduction of diseases brought by Europeans and the brutal exploitation of their labor. The discovery of the West Indies did not reward Europeans with the gold and spices they sought, but they instead found wealth, first in tobacco cultivation and then, when tobacco revenues fell prey to superior competition from Virginia plantations, they turned to sugar. Slavery was introduced with the adoption of sugar as a cash crop. Sugar cultivation was a labor-intensive undertaking, and a large workforce was required to make sugar production a worthwhile exercise. In an effort to maintain their newfound wealth, European countries employed the services of slave traders to transport thousands of Africans, who were captured, purchased, and in turn sold to available planters at low cost. Caribbean chattel slavery was a brutal and inhumane form of slavery, unlike that of West Africa which granted basic rights to the enslaved individual. It was based on the concept of racial inferiority (Low Country Digital Library - College of Charleston). In West Africa no child was born into slavery, a slave could get out of slavery by buying himself and acquiring possessions and wealth. In the Caribbean, however, British authorities considered the slave to be chattel or property subject to the whims and fancies of the planter. Africans were stripped of their cultural identity and brutally punished for practicing anyform of religion, custom, or ritual native to their ancestral home. Any child born to an enslaved person was considered a slave, and children as young as six were sent to work in the fields. Slave women were subjected to brutal rape and abuse by their masters and made up the majority of the labor force in the fields. Men were emasculated, worked to death, beaten and deprived of the right to a family life, often thrown into rooms to "breed" female slaves in order to create new bloodlines (Morgan). According to John Campbell in his article “Fixed melancholy,” suicide was practiced among slaves because it was thought that death would allow them to return to their ancestral homes. It also became a form of resistance to the brutality of slavery. The doctor Hans Sloane wrote during a visit to Jamaica (1687-1689) “…the negroes of some countries think of returning to their country when they die in Jamaica, and therefore they consider death but little, imagining that they will change their condition, so way means, from servile to free...". Post-slavery conditions were not much better than slavery itself. Because Britain ended the slave trade in 1807 and slavery itself was abolished on 1 August 1834, the apprenticeship system, established to provide a transitional period from slavery to freedom for former slaves and to preserve access to a stable workforce for former slaves, the planter, was itself a means for planters to prolong the period of slavery. In some cases there was nowhere else to work except on the same plantations from which they gained freedom. They were subjected to the brutal beatings experienced during slavery and worked for a pittance. Others, who could, fled the plantations and found the means to make a living away from that environment. The treatment of the newly freed men was partial, and planters reported the loss of long hours of labor. Under the new rules the freed men would only have to work forty hours a week, and farmers protested that this would reduce their profit margins. Even though they were no longer considered property, the idea that the black man was inferior continued to be supported by laws and institutions, resulting in unjust treatment, no recourse in the law, and a crushed spirit. It was against this history that Garvey sought the recovery of black humanity and the right to self-determination that had been stripped away during several hundred years of slavery. His philosophy embraced race over nation. He felt that instilling black pride was the first step in bringing about positive change in the black man's circumstance. He fought for the advancement of the black race on the global stage and for the end of European colonialism (Lewis). Due to financial difficulties he was forced to leave school at the age of fourteen and became a printer's apprentice. The press and newspapers expose him to the power of the written word which becomes one of his favorite tools, to spread his message to the masses (Lewis). The other was through the word. He declared: “I trust that you will live today to realize that you are masters of your destiny, masters of your destiny; if there is anything you want in this world, it is for you to reach out for it with confidence and self-belief and achieve it. After living and working in several other countries, in 1912 he went to England for two years, where he paid close attention to the conflict between England and Ireland regarding the latter's independence. His travels allowed him to see that blacks in other countries were also hindered politically and socially and this pushed him to find ways to improve their lot. While there he also read the writingsof other anti-colonial activists and his concept of independence from the white colonial masters took shape. He founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association in 1914 upon his return to Jamaica and its mandate was to promote black pride, economic self-sufficiency and the formation of an independent black nation. However, after founding the association, he encountered racism in Jamaica and noted: “I never knew there was so much color prejudice in Jamaica, the home of my birth, until I began the work of Universal Negro Improvement Association. The newspapers wrote with big headlines and told about my movement. But no one wanted to be a "nigger" (Lewis). He perceived that black Jamaicans distanced themselves from the term "nigger" because by European standards it represented being wild and uncivilized and therefore inferior. His suggestion to liberate Africa from colonial rule was met with derision by his countrymen. In 1924 in another speech he stated: “...The time has come for the black man to forget the hero-worship of other races and to create and emulate his own heroes. We must canonize our saints, create our martyrs, and elevate to positions of fame and honor Black men and women who have made their contributions to our racial history. in the teachings of organizations with large followings such as the Nation of Islam and the Black Power Movement, among others (Lewis). These were organizations that existed to instill and promote black pride and improve conditions for the black race. Garvey encouraged the development of black industry to create economic wealth for black citizens. He believed that the most effective path to independence was through economic success. He was concerned with finding ways to reverse the mental hold that chattel slavery still had on its victims. He called it “mental slavery.” He realized that Caribbean cultural identity was based on the norms and values established by its European slave masters. As a result, the belief in black inferiority was pervasive. He expressed, “Free the minds of men and you will ultimately free the bodies of men.” Through the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), Garvey promoted the idea of economic success through group economic efforts. He founded the Negro Factories Corporation as the commercial arm of the UNIA. Here, businesses would be created to employ Negroes and produce goods for Negroes to enable them to be self-sufficient within their communities. Likewise, the Black Star Line was also established to facilitate trade by black businesses between the United States, the West Indies, and Africa. Poor blacks could buy shares for as little as five dollars. Involvement in industry and legitimate business as owners and investors has given displaced populations a sense of empowerment and a way to take charge of their own destiny and this is an example that is still relevant in the twenty-first century Caribbean. Although these entities ultimately failed, the concept and execution were many years ahead of their time and became a framework for social mobility and gave a stronger voice to the Black citizen. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Garvey drafted laws and legislative framework to advance the Black diaspora. He noted that as a young man in Jamaica, he “began to take a keen interest in the politics of my country and then I saw the injustice done to my race because it was black, and I became dissatisfied because of it” (Lawler). At the 1920 UNIA convention, the Declaration of the Rights of Negro Peoples was drafted. Specifically referring.

Topic > Marcus Garvey's Contribution to the Development of a Postcolonial Caribbean Identity from colonial Jamaica to an international icon of the black empowerment movement. Rupert Lewis portrays Garvey as a self-made individual, whose keen observations on the conditions of blacks in the colonial-era Caribbean and other parts of the world, stimulate his drive and determination to create opportunities that bring about fundamental change and create a new black. consciousness that attempts to erase the abuse of slavery on the black psyche. In retrospect, the impact of his contribution had far-reaching effects on the development of a postcolonial Caribbean identity, and many of the goals and structures he committed to writing and speaking were effectively used in the formation of laws and institutional framework . of the independent nations of the Caribbean. Rupert Lewis used material in his account, from the perspective of Marcus Garvey's second wife, Amy Jacques-Garvey, and also used other supporting information, including Garvey's writings and speeches. To examine the extent of its contribution to postcolonial Caribbean identity, we must first understand exploitative colonialism, the impact of slavery, post-slavery conditions, and its goals of recovering black humanity, creating economic wealth, and creating laws and legislative frameworks to advance the black diaspora. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Caribbean colonialist society was based on exploitative colonialism. To understand the impact of Garveyism on postcolonial Caribbean identity, one must be aware of the effect of colonialism on the identity of the black Caribbean citizen. The rich and powerful nations of Europe, in an attempt to acquire more power and wealth, decided to exploit the resources of the Caribbean countries they inhabited and in the process decimated the native populations. The Lucayan, Taino, and Kalinago populations severely declined due to the introduction of diseases brought by Europeans and the brutal exploitation of their labor. The discovery of the West Indies did not reward Europeans with the gold and spices they sought, but they instead found wealth, first in tobacco cultivation and then, when tobacco revenues fell prey to superior competition from Virginia plantations, they turned to sugar. Slavery was introduced with the adoption of sugar as a cash crop. Sugar cultivation was a labor-intensive undertaking, and a large workforce was required to make sugar production a worthwhile exercise. In an effort to maintain their newfound wealth, European countries employed the services of slave traders to transport thousands of Africans, who were captured, purchased, and in turn sold to available planters at low cost. Caribbean chattel slavery was a brutal and inhumane form of slavery, unlike that of West Africa which granted basic rights to the enslaved individual. It was based on the concept of racial inferiority (Low Country Digital Library - College of Charleston). In West Africa no child was born into slavery, a slave could get out of slavery by buying himself and acquiring possessions and wealth. In the Caribbean, however, British authorities considered the slave to be chattel or property subject to the whims and fancies of the planter. Africans were stripped of their cultural identity and brutally punished for practicing anyform of religion, custom, or ritual native to their ancestral home. Any child born to an enslaved person was considered a slave, and children as young as six were sent to work in the fields. Slave women were subjected to brutal rape and abuse by their masters and made up the majority of the labor force in the fields. Men were emasculated, worked to death, beaten and deprived of the right to a family life, often thrown into rooms to "breed" female slaves in order to create new bloodlines (Morgan). According to John Campbell in his article “Fixed melancholy,” suicide was practiced among slaves because it was thought that death would allow them to return to their ancestral homes. It also became a form of resistance to the brutality of slavery. The doctor Hans Sloane wrote during a visit to Jamaica (1687-1689) “…the negroes of some countries think of returning to their country when they die in Jamaica, and therefore they consider death but little, imagining that they will change their condition, so way means, from servile to free...". Post-slavery conditions were not much better than slavery itself. Because Britain ended the slave trade in 1807 and slavery itself was abolished on 1 August 1834, the apprenticeship system, established to provide a transitional period from slavery to freedom for former slaves and to preserve access to a stable workforce for former slaves, the planter, was itself a means for planters to prolong the period of slavery. In some cases there was nowhere else to work except on the same plantations from which they gained freedom. They were subjected to the brutal beatings experienced during slavery and worked for a pittance. Others, who could, fled the plantations and found the means to make a living away from that environment. The treatment of the newly freed men was partial, and planters reported the loss of long hours of labor. Under the new rules the freed men would only have to work forty hours a week, and farmers protested that this would reduce their profit margins. Even though they were no longer considered property, the idea that the black man was inferior continued to be supported by laws and institutions, resulting in unjust treatment, no recourse in the law, and a crushed spirit. It was against this history that Garvey sought the recovery of black humanity and the right to self-determination that had been stripped away during several hundred years of slavery. His philosophy embraced race over nation. He felt that instilling black pride was the first step in bringing about positive change in the black man's circumstance. He fought for the advancement of the black race on the global stage and for the end of European colonialism (Lewis). Due to financial difficulties he was forced to leave school at the age of fourteen and became a printer's apprentice. The press and newspapers expose him to the power of the written word which becomes one of his favorite tools, to spread his message to the masses (Lewis). The other was through the word. He declared: “I trust that you will live today to realize that you are masters of your destiny, masters of your destiny; if there is anything you want in this world, it is for you to reach out for it with confidence and self-belief and achieve it. After living and working in several other countries, in 1912 he went to England for two years, where he paid close attention to the conflict between England and Ireland regarding the latter's independence. His travels allowed him to see that blacks in other countries were also hindered politically and socially and this pushed him to find ways to improve their lot. While there he also read the writingsof other anti-colonial activists and his concept of independence from the white colonial masters took shape. He founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association in 1914 upon his return to Jamaica and its mandate was to promote black pride, economic self-sufficiency and the formation of an independent black nation. However, after founding the association, he encountered racism in Jamaica and noted: “I never knew there was so much color prejudice in Jamaica, the home of my birth, until I began the work of Universal Negro Improvement Association. The newspapers wrote with big headlines and told about my movement. But no one wanted to be a "nigger" (Lewis). He perceived that black Jamaicans distanced themselves from the term "nigger" because by European standards it represented being wild and uncivilized and therefore inferior. His suggestion to liberate Africa from colonial rule was met with derision by his countrymen. In 1924 in another speech he stated: “...The time has come for the black man to forget the hero-worship of other races and to create and emulate his own heroes. We must canonize our saints, create our martyrs, and elevate to positions of fame and honor Black men and women who have made their contributions to our racial history. in the teachings of organizations with large followings such as the Nation of Islam and the Black Power Movement, among others (Lewis). These were organizations that existed to instill and promote black pride and improve conditions for the black race. Garvey encouraged the development of black industry to create economic wealth for black citizens. He believed that the most effective path to independence was through economic success. He was concerned with finding ways to reverse the mental hold that chattel slavery still had on its victims. He called it “mental slavery.” He realized that Caribbean cultural identity was based on the norms and values established by its European slave masters. As a result, the belief in black inferiority was pervasive. He expressed, “Free the minds of men and you will ultimately free the bodies of men.” Through the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), Garvey promoted the idea of economic success through group economic efforts. He founded the Negro Factories Corporation as the commercial arm of the UNIA. Here, businesses would be created to employ Negroes and produce goods for Negroes to enable them to be self-sufficient within their communities. Likewise, the Black Star Line was also established to facilitate trade by black businesses between the United States, the West Indies, and Africa. Poor blacks could buy shares for as little as five dollars. Involvement in industry and legitimate business as owners and investors has given displaced populations a sense of empowerment and a way to take charge of their own destiny and this is an example that is still relevant in the twenty-first century Caribbean. Although these entities ultimately failed, the concept and execution were many years ahead of their time and became a framework for social mobility and gave a stronger voice to the Black citizen. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Garvey drafted laws and legislative framework to advance the Black diaspora. He noted that as a young man in Jamaica, he “began to take a keen interest in the politics of my country and then I saw the injustice done to my race because it was black, and I became dissatisfied because of it” (Lawler). At the 1920 UNIA convention, the Declaration of the Rights of Negro Peoples was drafted. Specifically referring.